DefenceTalkPolicymakers and military commanders should use the lessons derived from the final years of U.S. involvement in Iraq to inform critical decisions and timelines required to successfully end large-scale military operations, including the one in Afghanistan, according to a new RAND Corporation study. It took approximately two years to wrap up the long-term, country-wide military […]https://www.defencetalk.com/the-end-of-the-iraq-war-offers-lessons-for-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-49571/

DefenceTalkThe United States agreed a deal Friday with Romania allowing use of an air base on the Black Sea as a transit point for American troops departing Afghanistan, officials said. The agreement allows the US to shift its flight operations to Romania’s Mihail Kogalniceanu air base from an airport in Kyrgyzstan, which charged steep rental […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-secures-romanian-air-base-for-afghan-pullout-49435/

DefenceTalkSoldiers with 2nd Platoon, 49th Explosive Ordinance Disposal Company, attached to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), supported the Afghan National Army’s EOD team from the 4th Kandak, 1st Brigade, 203rd Corps, with running a counter improvised explosive device lane for the 4th Kandak Route Clearance Company, June 20, at Camp […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eod-supports-afghan-armys-counter-ied-training-48246/

DefenceTalkAs the U.S. mission in Afghanistan evolves from full spectrum combat operations to a support role in helping Afghan forces take hold of their country’s security, unit commanders emphasize the need for network mobility. Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, or WIN-T, Increment 2, the Army’s improved tactical network communications backbone, was designed to fulfill such a mission. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/armys-new-mobile-network-to-support-its-afghan-security-mission-48003/

DefenceTalkFourteen Afghan air force members of the Kabul Air Wing Quick Reaction Force Company graduated from Ground Combat Skills Course in a ceremony May 29 at Kabul International Airport here. The graduation marked the completion of 50 hours of advanced upgrade training for the newest members of the QRF Company. The graduation and continued advancements […]https://www.defencetalk.com/elite-afghan-soldiers-complete-training-48000/

DefenceTalkThe Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost the United States between $4-6 trillion in the long term, constraining the government’s budget for decades to come, a study said. Harvard University scholar Linda Bilmes concluded that the United States will face increasing costs to care for an estimated 2.5 million veterans, and to pay down debt […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iraq-afghan-wars-to-cost-us-up-to-6-trillion-study-47307/

DefenceTalkThe reset of equipment returning from Afghanistan may be affected by sequestration, said the commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command. The cancellation of reset would affect post-combat repair for about 1,000 vehicles, 14,000 communications devices and 17,000 weapons, Gen. Dennis Via, commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command, or AMC, told an audience of about 500 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sequestration-may-affect-reset-from-afghanistan-46959/

DefenceTalkNATO has said it is strongly considering a proposal to extend funding for a security force of Afghan troops through 2018. The proposal comes amid speculation that the US will reduce support for post-2014 operations. NATO is considering plans to continue supporting about 350,000 Afghan troops in the country until 2018, its Secretary General Anders […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-mulls-funding-afghan-troops-through-2018-46911/

DefenceTalkIn another historic step for the Afghan Air Force, an AAF Cessna 208 configured for battlefield casualty evacuation successfully transported a seriously injured solider and three minor casualties from Kandahar, Afghanistan to Kabul International Airport Feb. 11. The Afghan-tasked, planned and led mission validated the recently-signed CASEVAC Concept of Operations between AAF Commander Maj. Gen. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-afghan-air-force-c-208-casevac-a-success-46851/

DefenceTalkU.S. troops in Afghanistan will decrease by 34,000 over the coming year, President Barack Obama announced tonight in his annual State of the Union address. “After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home,” he said early in his remarks to a joint session of Congress. Later in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/obama-announces-34000-cut-to-us-force-in-afghanistan-46780/